Author Archives: athosweblog

2299 – arsanas Konstamonitou: a new chapel above the caves

On our last pilgrimage to Athos with the FoMA footpath team we had a day off on day 4 (21/09-23) because the monks of Sografou were celebrating a holiday and all workers were not allowed to do any work. We … Continue reading

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2298 – Images of Dionysiou

During the FoMA path clearing week our base was the Dionysiou Monastery. Dionysiou was founded in the 14th century but the first photo’s of the monastery appear in the 19th century. A few years ago, photographs and negatives of Athos … Continue reading

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2297 – The FoMA Footpath Clearing Pilgrimage 2023

The vast majority of the Foma 2023 pathclearing team (36 pilgrims) arrived in Ouranoupolis, Greece from London by plane. The flight was quite delayed so it was a short night for these pilgrims. The Dutch delegation (Bas, my brother Wim … Continue reading

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2296 – the ossuary of Sografou

Next to the cemetery of Sografou is the chapel ‘Annunciation to the Virgin’, a beautiful old building painted in ocher yellow and terracotta brown/red colors. (Here) on the right and under this building in which the ossuary is located. Both … Continue reading

Posted in 09 Sografou, ruins, Trip 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

2295 – Portraits of Athos monks in 1963. The festivities of a thousand years of Athos, Part 4

Ger Dommerholt, who visited Athos with his friend Jan in 1963 and attended the 1000th anniversary festivities is an enthusiastic photographer. We have already shown a number of photos of him in previous posts. We have saved most of the … Continue reading

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2294 – After the festivities of a thousand years of Athos (1963). Part 3

The next two days Ger and Jan would walk the entire west side of Athos. They left from Paulou via Dionysiou and Grigoriou to Simonos Petras.  In Dionysiou they studied the famous frescoes. Here is traveling companion Jan sitting in … Continue reading

Posted in 08 Xiropotamou, 10 Docheiariou, 13 Simonos Petras, 17 Grigoriou, 19 Panteleimonos, 20 Konstamonitou | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

2293 – the cemetery of Sografou

Sografou cemetery is located uphill, to the left of the monastery. It is a 2-minute walk from the monastery entrance to reach the cemetery gate, which is open. This is the road, next to the vegetable gardens, that leads to … Continue reading

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2292 – the remnants of two carriages in the cemetery of Sografou

On September 18 I visited the cemetery of Zografou. In a far corner of the cemetery I found two half-decayed remains of four-wheeled carriages. What could be the reason that these old means of transport were stored here? Were they … Continue reading

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2291 – The festivities of Lavra’s 1000 years existence. Part 2

The year is 963. A thousand and sixty years ago. The foundation of the first monastery on Athos, the Great Lavra. The thousand-year anniversary was of course celebrated in detail at the time. As someone said to me, the life … Continue reading

Posted in 01 Lavra, 14 Paulou, history, Karoulia, Katounakia, Kavsokalivia | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2290 – Two young Dutch men witnessed the festivities of Lavra’s 1000 years existence. Part 1

It’s 1963. Sixty years ago. Two friends from the Dutch city of The Hague, Ger (23) and Jan (25), plan to travel to Greece by moped. They had previously gone to Spain by moped. They wanted to experience such an … Continue reading

Posted in 01 Lavra, 03 Iviron, 18 Esfigmenou, people | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment